Circuit Breaker Labs is a startup focused on AI safety, specifically aiming to prevent psychologically harmful interactions between users and AI models. The company is a finalist in the 2026 TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 and will present at the Disrupt event in San Francisco from October 13 to 15, 2026.
Founded by siblings Shirali and Arul Nigam, the company employs five people. The startup develops AI agents that simulate diverse user profiles, including different ages, cultural backgrounds, and linguistic nuances, to act as 'crash-test dummies' for large language models.
The platform conducts red-team testing by running between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of simulated interactions daily. These tests incorporate realistic speech patterns, slang, and typos to identify potential model weaknesses and prevent dangerous responses.
The startup utilizes a proprietary scoring system to provide auditable and explainable results. Currently, the company operates as a safety testing lab for high-risk applications, such as mental health support and AI coaching tools, though it has not disclosed its client list.
